Health Promotion South Africa Trust (HPSA)

The mission of Health Promotion South Africa Trust (HPSA), a registered non-profit organization, is to educate and promote health and well-being at the individual and community level in South Africa. HPSA currently operates in vulnerable communities near to Cape Town, where adults, adolescents and children are taught essential information and practical skills on how to prevent disease and live a healthy lifestyle. We teach in community centres, in schools, in crèches, in churches and in commercial centres. Since the majority of our target population is women and girls, we also offer other workshops, when requested, such as dealing with violence and rape, parenting skills, and teenage pregnancies.

We call our teachers Senior Health Promoters, and we only train teachers who live in our targeted communities. Being taught by someone who speaks their language and lives in their community helps our clients to learn better. We also partner with other agencies in the communities we serve.

The impact of our work is considerable. We reach between 15, 000 and 20,000 people every year. Our attendees enjoy their learning and are very appreciative of the chance to learn knowledge that can improve the health and outlook of their families, friends and themselves. It is also often reported to us that many of our graduates find work in orphanages, crèches, elder care etc.

Years ago the two founders of Health Promotion South Africa Trust (HPSA) Dr h.c. Harold E Robles and Dr Jelle Braaksma, were very aware of the poor health of many people in vulnerable communities in South Africa. They realised that there was an urgent need to provide free health education to these vulnerable people. So they founded HPSA, as a very practical way of realising their dream of healthier South Africans!